*By Request*
“Hey man, I know Forbidden Door already happened but I have an article request for you involving the theme. Book a Forbidden Door show between AEW & WWE.”
That’s a pretty straightforward request.
If, for some strange reason, both Tony Khan and TKO management came to me and asked me to put a crossover show together, what would it look like?
Yes, I did a similar column four-and-a-half years ago, but my goodness, the landscapes of both companies have changed so much in that time. Almost every match I put together in that 2021 column wouldn’t be able to happen in this scenario in 2025. This wrestler is no longer with the company, that wrestler jumped ship since then, and so on and so forth.
The first thing I’m doing in this fantasy scenario is having everyone on both the WWE and AEW rosters healthy and active. That means names like Kevin Owens, Big E, Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson, Rey Mysterio, and so on are all available to use. It’s more fun that way.
The second thing is that I’m trying to avoid the “lazy” idea that WWE liked to use for Survivor Series, where you’d just get World Champion vs World Champion, Tag Champions vs Tag Champions, Women’s Champion vs Women’s Champion, Midcard Champion vs Midcard Champion, etc. As of the moment I type this sentence, I don’t have any matches finalized for the card, so you MIGHT see something like that end up happening. I’m not sure yet. Just know that I’m trying everything I can to stay away from it.
Next, this is MY card for MY Show. I’m putting it together for MY personal tastes. Please remember that when you wonder why so-and-so is facing so-and-so, or why Wrestler A isn’t on the card. Yes, I want to get as much star power on the show as I can, but it’s still my own decision making, and I’m running with that.
Finally, this is something that I feel would require a two-day show like WWE is doing with events like WrestleMania and SummerSlam these days. There is simply too much talent on the rosters of WWE and AEW to simply have one show. Sure, I could’ve had a 30-man Battle Royal on the card, plus a five or six-team tag match, plus a six-man Ladder Match, and so on, but that’s cheap, and it means a bunch of people make the card with no real story. There’s enough of that in real life. There’s so much talent that I still might have to throw some of those aforementioned match types on the card somewhere, or else some big time names are going to be left out. We’ll see.
Actually… let me go ahead and scrap that entire last paragraph. I’m supposed to be getting wild and crazy here, right? Well, why not get as wild and as crazy as we’ve ever seen a major pro wrestling event become? Forget a two-night event. How about a three-night event?!? We never got to see a true WWF vs WCW show, or anything along those lines, so a WWE vs AEW event would be the biggest wrestling show of all-time. Let’s act like it. Find a three-day weekend like Labor Day, and have shows on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I certainly wouldn’t recommend a regular WWE or AEW event do something like that, but for this fantasy booking exercise, let’s do it.
Just for fun, let’s have the shows take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The home of WrestleMania 39, SoFi had a total of 134,856 paying fans in the building for the two-night event back in 2023. For something like this, you’re aiming to sell over 200,000 total tickets, which would help to break every revenue record in the books.
It’s time. Let’s get to it.
Night One – Saturday
The Street Profits vs JetSpeed vs DIY vs Top Flight vs FrAxiom vs Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong: If we’re kicking off the biggest wrestling event of all-time, I think a good choice for the opening match would be a multi-team Ladder Match involving some of the most exciting tag teams in the business. If this was Tony Khan in charge of things, there would be some arbitrary amount of kayfabe money on the line for the winners. Since I’m the one running the show, we’ll just have a Tag Team Title shot on the line for the winners. This is precisely the type of train wreck… in the best possible way… that is guaranteed to get the crowd amped up from the very start.
Jacob Fatu vs Samoa Joe: Joe is one of the VERY rare Samoan pro wrestlers that isn’t related to the Anoa’i family in any way, shape, or form. He has still been able to carve out an incredible career for himself through the years. It’s an easy choice to put him in the ring with an Anoa’i family member here, but it makes sense. These two are very similar in a lot of ways, and I think they would have a wild match that would keep the crowd going, giving them an entirely different train wreck to watch. Again, though, that’s meant as the highest of compliments.
Charlotte Flair vs Megan Bayne: I have to admit… I had a very difficult time placing women’s matches on this show. The main reason for it is that I’m a fan of WAY more women on the WWE roster than on the AEW roster. No matter what I did, and who I placed on the show, I was left with A LOT of WWE women with no proverbial dance partners, and I had to leave them off the show entirely. Charlotte was a difficult matchup for me, but in the end, I placed her in a match with someone who isn’t going to be intimidated by her size. At listed measurables of 5’10” and 143 pounds, Charlotte is almost always bigger than her opponents, and at the very least taller than they are. With the 5’11” and 187-pound Bayne, Charlotte would actually come in here as the smaller woman. I like Charlotte’s work in matches like that, where she is forced to find a different strategy than she would against smaller opponents. This might not be the first pairing that immediately comes to your mind for something like this, but I think the spectacle of it all makes for a perfect fit on my show.
Gunther vs Bryan Danielson: If there’s one thing Bryan Danielson truly excels at, it’s playing a scrappy underdog that loves to bring the fight to larger, seemingly unstoppable opponents. Samoa Joe, Takeshi Morishima, Bison Smith, Brock Lesnar, Luke Harper, Kane, Mark Henry, Big Show, Miro, Roman Reigns, Triple H, Sheamus… the list goes on and on, and he’s had good-to-great matches with all of them. Putting him in the ring with Gunther would make for something incredible. Here’s the thing, though… these two have already faced each other before, albeit in a much different situation. All the way back in January 2008, Gunther was a 20-year-old with just over two years of pro wrestling experience, going by the name of Big Van Walter at the time, and he had a match with Danielson for Germany’s Westside Xtreme Wrestling promotion. I enjoyed the match, but to say that Gunther has come a long way as a performer over the last 17-plus years would be quite the understatement. Hell, Bryan Danielson has come a long way as a performer over the last 17-plus years. Gunther has perfected the “horror movie villain that keeps moving forward and won’t stop trying to murder you” role, but Danielson also isn’t going to stop moving forward and trying to fight him every step of the way. This one could very well take the title for best match of the entire weekend.
Rey Mysterio vs Bandido: It’s a “passing the torch” type of scenario, although perhaps not in the way many would immediately think. People have debated on who the “next Rey Mysterio” is for years and years. WWE has spent a lot of time and resources trying to find the “next Rey Mysterio” that can be a huge star for the Spanish-speaking fans. Rey himself is on record saying that Dragon Lee could very well be the face of Lucha Libre moving forward. As much as I like Dragon Lee, and even though I’m very well aware that these two don’t have mirrored styles, I like my pairing of Rey and Bandido here. For what seemed like decades, there wasn’t a better Mexican pro wrestler on the planet than Rey Mysterio. Now, for what has been years, I don’t feel there’s a better Mexican pro wrestler on the planet than Bandido. Again, I know that their in-ring styles aren’t completely identical, but that doesn’t really matter. The level of respect that they have for one another and their work would help to make this one something fun.
Drew McIntyre vs Adam Cole: Can I pull the curtain back a bit when it comes to the creation of this column? Of every match that I put together for this Forbidden Door show, this one was the last to be made. That’s not a knock on either Drew or Adam, mind you. The other matches were just easier to make for one reason or another. Then, I found myself with 29 matches to spread out over three nights. Right away, I knew I needed to come up with one more match, giving me a total of 30, evenly spreading them out over three nights. Can I be completely transparent with all of you right now? I randomly put this match together, essentially closing my eyes and selecting one name from a WWE list and one from an AEW list of names I wanted to have on the show somewhere. Don’t get me wrong… I think this would be a really entertaining match. I just needed another bout to get the column rolling. Sorry.
Iyo Sky vs Mercedes Moné: With Iyo Sky, you have someone who might be the best in-ring worker of any woman that WWE has on their roster, even though she may not be the best character they have. With Mercedes, you have someone who might be the best in-ring worker of any woman that AEW has on their roster, even though she may not be the best character they have. They’re both capable and willing to work a multitude of styles, allowing them to be successful against just about anyone they share a ring with. While these two have faced off before… a singles match in NXT back in 2020, and being on opposing teams in the Survivor Series elimination match the year prior… this is still something huge that would get a lot of buzz for the show.
The New Day vs Adam Copeland, Christian Cage & Chris Jericho: I know, I know… just hear me out. In this fantasy scenario, Big E is medically cleared to wrestle, as per the rules I laid out in the start of this column. With Big E still wrestling, I made the controversial (in that I went back and forth on the idea a lot) decision to retcon the entire heel turn for Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. What can I say? I’d rather see them working together with E. If we’re doing a Forbidden Door show like this, I would assume that means we’d be doing builds for matches on WWE and AEW television in the weeks leading up to the event. That’s where a pairing like this could really shine. The promos, backstage segments, and things of that nature would be enjoyable. Everyone involved are capable of handling things comedically, as well as going in a more serious direction if the build requires it. That goes for the match itself, too. It could be a comedy match with no problem whatsoever, but it could easily be a banger of a trios match. That’s the kind of versatility I’m looking for here.
Cody Rhodes vs MJF: In some of the previous drafts of this column, Cody vs MJF was in the main event spot of the Saturday show. Even now, it feels weird to have the current Undisputed WWE Champion wrestling in a match that isn’t a main event. That’s when it hit me, though… for an event like this, who the champions are isn’t as important as a regular show. Yes, Cody has the biggest title in WWE, but he’s not defending the title here. In the end, as you’ll see very shortly, I went with someone on WWE’s side that is a bigger overall star for the main event match. As far as Cody vs MJF goes, the story is already there. They’re friends. MJF has called Cody a “mentor” of his. Cody has said that MJF was one of his personal “recruits” when AEW was being formed. They know each other very well. Because it’s MJF we’re talking about, though, you always have the potential to turn this into a serious grudge for the match build. Promos about how Cody “left him” in 2022 to “run away” when times were tough. Those are the types of moments MJF thrives on, and would be a potentially great selling point for this match.
John Cena vs Kenny Omega: Like I said, I ultimately decided to go with a bigger star on the WWE side in the main event. Not saying Cody Rhodes is small potatoes, but even he would tell you that John Cena is a bigger star and more of a household name than he is. At first glance, it might seem strange that I’ve put Cena and Omega together, but it shouldn’t be. They’re both the former faces of their respective companies, are much closer to the ends of their careers than their physical primes, and continue to prove that they can still “go” in the ring. There’s a lot of pride in a matchup like this, and more than almost any other match on any of the three nights, you’re going to see two competitors with a ton to prove. There’s a real “big fight” feel for this one. Honestly, though, if you’d rather swap this with Cody vs MJF and have that match as the main event, I wouldn’t be too offended.
Night Two – Sunday
AJ Styles vs Konosuke Takeshita: The Saturday show got kicked off by a train wreck Ladder Match, but the Sunday show gets started by going in an entirely different direction. AJ has had a legendary career, but some of the best in-ring work he has done came during the multiple years he was wrestling for New Japan before he signed with WWE. His style fit in very well in Japan. Right now, Takeshita has a claim to being the best wrestler in the world today, and that, of course, includes his work with New Japan this year. He could help AJ turn the clock back a bit, and this could end up looking like a lot of AJ’s great work while he was at the top of the New Japan mountain in 2014 and 2015.
Bianca Belair vs Willow Nightingale: Outside of diehard WWE fans in the crowd, this one has the potential to get a strong heel reaction for Bianca. Not a knock on her. That’s just how popular and likable Willow is. I don’t see it as a problem in any way, shape or form, though. I think Bianca does her best work when she wrestles with an edge. Not even necessarily as a heel, but with more of a rough edge, which is what I’d like to see from her here. I think that would make for the best story and best outcome with these two involved.
Penta vs Ricochet vs Carmelo Hayes vs Pac vs Rey Fénix vs Buddy Matthews vs Je’Von Evans vs Darby Allin: Another train wreck! When I made the Ladder Match on Night One, it was easy to assign a Tag Team Title shot to the winners. For this match, I chose the competitors before I made any sort of stipulations. At face value, it might seem weird to say that the winner of this match gets a World Title shot. Nothing against the likes of Carmelo Hayes or Buddy Matthews, but they haven’t exactly been positioned as World Title contenders on television. That’s precisely the vibe I like when it comes to matches like Money In The Bank or AEW’s Casino bouts, though. Using those two examples again, Carmelo Hayes and Buddy Matthews are insanely talented in-ring performers. Giving them an opportunity like this is exactly what they need to move up the card. If someone like Melo can win a match like this, then yes, he absolutely should get himself a World Title shot. Same goes for everyone else involved in this match.
Aleister Black vs Brody King: They did very good work as a team in AEW (and for a brief amount of time in PWG before their time in AEW), and that’s precisely why I think they’d do very good work as opponents. The fact that they know each other so well would make for an entertaining build to the match, and then an entertaining match itself.
Randy Orton vs Kazuchika Okada: This is another pairing that might look weird to some people, but I don’t think it’s all that crazy at all. For pretty much the entirety of his career, something that you’ve heard a million times about Randy Orton is that he looks like he’s a lab-created example of what a pro wrestler should be. He looks like a million bucks, and even before the opening bell rings, he has passed a bunch of “eyeball tests.” The same has also been said about Okada. Both men have made careers out of being able to do just about anything with just about anyone, and looking great while they do it. This is the kind of match I can see getting the “holy shit” and “this is awesome” chants as soon as they meet in the middle of the ring for a face-off before they’ve even had any physical contact.
Sheamus vs Eddie Kingston: No need for a backstory or anything even closely resembling one. Here, we have two guys that are always looking for a fight, and for someone who can bring a fight to them. I hope you’re not expecting any scientific “graps” with this one. No, we’re just going to have both men beating the hell out of each other from bell-to-bell. Works for me.
The Usos vs The Young Bucks: This is the first of two (more on that later) matches that are exactly the same as I featured in my 2021 edition of this column. The pairing of these two teams makes too much sense not to happen in this type of scenario. These teams have been compared to each other, both positively and negatively, for years now. There has been the occasional rumor that the Bucks were on WWE’s radar, putting us closer to seeing this in real life, but obviously, that never happened. If there was ever going to be a “clinic” on in-ring chemistry and tag team offense, this would be it.
Brock Lesnar vs Keith Lee: Brock is a tough person to place in something like this. He’s so unique, and so dominant, that it’s hard to find a good opponent for him. I could’ve gone with a smaller, underdog opponent. Brock has proven that, as big and bad as he is, he is more than willing to make magic with smaller opponents like Rey Mysterio, Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, and more. In the end, though, I thought it would be best for Brock to have an opponent that is actually physically larger than he is. Do you remember their brief interaction during the 2020 Royal Rumble match? Brock was very impressed with the size and power of Keith Lee, who he was seemingly laying eyes on for the very first time. In typical Vince McMahon fashion, though, he fucked that up and cost himself money. I’m here to try and make up for some of that. Keith Lee isn’t going to be intimidated by Brock Lesnar, and that could make for something special here.
Becky Lynch vs “Timeless” Toni Storm: I’ve said it before, but I think Becky is the best overall (in-ring work, mic skills, etc.) performer that women’s wrestling has ever seen. I also think that women’s wrestling has never seen someone do a better job of character work than what Toni has done with the “Timeless” persona. It seems like I’d be a fool if I didn’t have them face each other here. I’m already picturing the promos that they’d cut on each other in the lead up to the show, and it’s making me smile as I type this out.
Seth Rollins vs Will Ospreay: We’ve seen these two take shots, veiled and not-so-veiled, at each other on social media in the past. Both of them are very proud men, and they feel strongly that they’re the best wrestler in the world today, and therefore, their place of employment is the best wrestling company in the world today. Arguments of that type continue today, with fans of both companies defending “their” guy with tremendous fervor. Put these two in the ring together, give them 30 minutes to work with, and you’re guaranteed to have an all-time classic. Sounds like something I want to main event one of my shows.
Night Three – Monday
Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs FTR: Night one started with a tag team Ladder Match train wreck. The following night started with a modern day puroresu classic. For night three, we’ll be getting started with a real PWG-style tag classic. All four men involved in this match are more than willing to put their bodies on the line for a great performance. I like the clash of styles, with FTR’s grittier old school style going up against Sami and KO’s newer school, breakneck pace. Three nights, three completely different types of show openers.
Finn Bálor vs “Switchblade” Jay White: The founder of New Japan’s Bullet Club stable going up against the fourth man to be the leader of Bullet Club. They never crossed paths in Japan, but the story here is an easy and natural one to tell. They’re also named quite often as two of the more underutilized performers on their respective rosters, with fans around the world feeling like both men should be competing for World Titles. I think that type of thing would have them wrestling with an extra large chip on their shoulders, which could make the match even better.
Rhea Ripley vs Kris Statlander: One of the things that has helped make Rhea Ripley one of the biggest stars in wrestling today is her physical dominance. Her blend of size and strength are rare in women’s wrestling, and she uses it well in her matches. Guess what Kris Statlander does best? Use her size and strength advantages to assert physical dominance over her opponents. It should be incredibly fun to watch these two evenly matched foes duke it out.
Oba Femi vs Bobby Lashley: Say it with me, folks… big meaty men slapping meat! At 6’3″ and 273 pounds, Bobby Lashley is one of the most physically impressive specimens in the wrestling business, and has been since he made his WWE debut 20 (!!!) years ago. With that said, he’s in the ring with someone in Oba Femi that is listed as being three inches taller than he is, and has him outweighed by 37 pounds. You don’t see Bobby wrestle as the smaller man very often, which is why I made this match. Like I said earlier about Charlotte Flair vs Megan Bayne, I think that makes for a much more intriguing match, and it would be fun to see these two generations come together for a wild battle.
Bron Breakker vs Kyle Fletcher: The Future vs The Future. Before he has even celebrated his 28th birthday, Bron has people (myself included) that he’s on the verge of becoming a major player in WWE, complete with World Title reigns and WrestleMania main event spots. On the other side of the ring is Fletcher, who hasn’t even turned 27 yet, but who already has people (myself included) feeling like he, too, is on the verge of becoming a major player for AEW, complete with World Title reigns and pay-per-view main events. They wrestle different styles, but both men aren’t afraid to get physical, and that’s what I’d be counting on here. Who can break (no pun intended) their opponent’s will and body first?
Dominik Mysterio vs Orange Cassidy: Orange Cassidy has proven to be one of the better comedic wrestlers in the business today, and Dominik Mysterio just gets it when it comes to his character and what that entails. If they were solely comedy-based, that would be one thing, but they’re both really good workers, with Dom getting better all the time. In my desire to have a wrestling event that features a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy, it would behoove me to have a match like this on the card, with the hilarity and the entertainment levels potentially going off the charts.
Logan Paul vs Swerve Strickland: While I think a match between these two would be amazing, I’d be just as excited to watch their promos against each other in the build for the show. Logan is an absolute heat magnet, capable of overwhelming hate before he even says or does anything. That’s going to be amplified as he goes up against the super popular Swerve. These are two of the brashest, cockiest talents in the sport today. Let them loose here, and you’re going to get a show.
Asuka vs Athena vs Giulia vs Hikaru Shida vs Stephanie Vaquer vs Riho: Remember what I said earlier about how difficult it was for me to make the women’s matches for this show? That rings true once again. I had a ton of women remaining on my list of available talents, but I just couldn’t get them matched up properly. In the end, I threw six women in the pool and I’m going to let them swim. All of them are either from Japan, have experience wrestling in Japan, or use a Japanese style of in-ring work. That’s going to make the match more fun for my own personal tastes. I just can’t help but notice all of the really talented women that didn’t even make the cut to be on a three-night show, though.
CM Punk vs “Hangman” Adam Page: Ooh, controversial. Some of you are thinking this should be Punk vs Jack Perry instead. While that would make sense, Jack Perry just isn’t that good, so he’s not on my show. Simple. If I can get Punk and Hangman in the same room at the same time without them trying to kill each other, it would be fun to watch them put a match together, and then to watch them have said match in the ring. There’s plenty of real life issues here, and as we’ve seen over and over again, that type of thing can make for some wonderful art in a pro wrestling ring.
Roman Reigns vs Jon Moxley: It’s the other instance of me keeping the same idea that I had in the 2021 version of this column. We know what it’s like when these two are on the same side, and we know what it’s like when these two are on opposing sides. The last time these two shared a wrestling ring was on April 21st, 2019. Think about how much has changed in their careers since then. AEW hadn’t had their first show yet. Roman was still a “Big Dog” and not a “Tribal Chief.” They have gone on to become the faces of their respective companies, and their names remain connected to each other, no matter what they do. Imagine the crowd reaction when Mox shows up on an episode of Raw to attack his former stablemate and gets the ball rolling to put this match together. You can complain about the final night’s main event not featuring a World Champion, but as I’ve already said, that kind of thing doesn’t matter as much for a show like this. When you’re pitting the biggest star on each roster, who just so happen to have years of personal history together, it can’t be anywhere else but in the weekend’s final match. We’re going to close the show out with the biggest bang possible.
Three nights, 30 matches, and tons of bragging rights on the line. That’s MY version of a WWE vs AEW Forbidden Door event. What do you think of my match choices? Would you make any changes? What are some matches you would put together if you were running the show? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s get to my Weekly Power Rankings before I close things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
AJ Lee: No matter how many years go by, I will always have a special place in my heart for AJ Lee. It’s great to see her back in the wrestling business again. My favorite part of her return was the look on CM Punk’s face as he watched her make her way to the ring. He was so happy and so proud in that moment, knowing what it meant to his wife and getting to see the happiness on her face.
“Hangman” Adam Page, Kenny Omega & JetSpeed vs Kyle Fletcher, The Young Bucks & Josh Alexander: Ah, the good ol’ “All-Star” tag match that has become Tony Khan’s latest booking crutch. What happens if you’re not booked to be in an “All-Star” match? Do you just go fuck yourself? As is always the case in these matches, this one was a crowd-pleasing spot fest that saw everyone get more than their fair share of time to shine.
Sami Zayn vs John Cena: Cena continues his in-ring hot streak, turning back the clock with another strong performance. I really like his recent trend of “I wasn’t able to wrestle everyone I wanted to during my farewell tour, so I’m paying tribute to some of them by borrowing their moves in my matches.” It has come off very well, and I look forward to him hitting someone with a Ganso Bomb soon.
Mark Briscoe vs Konosuke Takeshita: It was a much stronger than usual episode of Collision, and this match was a big reason why. Really fun stuff from both men, and the involvement of MJF gives Briscoe an “out” and adds extra heat to the feud between the newly-married Maxwell and the former RoH World Champion.
Brodido vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta: It truly amazes me to see Wheeler continue to get any sort of push in AEW. Don’t get me wrong… he has always been a skilled in-ring performer. However, is there anyone alive that is actually calling for him to get a push? I don’t think I’ve seen one. He’s still involved in one of AEW’s biggest storylines, wrestling in title matches, competing in main events, and getting a bunch of television time. Wild stuff.
Dominik Mysterio vs AJ Styles: The love that France has for AJ Styles is insane. I hope WWE continues doing shows in France, and I hope they continue to find ways to get AJ appear, even after he has retired. Give me an 83-year-old AJ, standing in the ring as the camera shakes violently because the crowd is losing their minds for him once again.
Mercedes Moné vs Alex Windsor: Darn that Creative Control for Mercedes striking yet again! In all seriousness, I don’t think anyone should’ve realistically expected a title change here. Alex put up a good fight, but she’s still brand new to the company. Now, it’s time for the returning Riho to get a shot at the TBS Title, and I’m all for it.
Becky Lynch: A lot of the stuff Becky does as a heel is too hokey and over-the-top for my liking… probably due to the fact that Becky seems like the nicest, sweetest person ever… but her antagonizing and trying to provoke CM Punk was tremendous. Slapping him over and over and over again, knowing that he isn’t going to put his hands on you, is great heel work, and it makes you want to see her get an eventual comeuppance. That’s where AJ Lee comes in, of course.
Daniel Garcia vs Jon Moxley: If there was ever a wrestler that needed a hard reset, it might be Daniel Garcia. A lot of damage has been done to him and his character during his time with AEW, and it’s going to get more and more difficult to overcome all that damage as time goes by. Having Matt Menard around him all the time isn’t helping. Start by getting rid of that on-screen relationship.
Jey Uso & LA Knight vs Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed: A slight variation to a match that we’ve seemingly seen 100 times over the last few months. I like seeing Paul Patrol pick up the win here, building on the momentum they had from their super duper heinous attack on Roman Reigns at Clash In Paris. How long will that last? I guess we’ll find out soon.
“Timeless” Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa, Harley Cameron & Kris Statlander vs Megan Bayne, Thekla, Julia Hart & Skye Blue: Oh, hey, another “All-Star” tag match. I guess the rest of you heifers in the women’s division can kick rocks until you learn how to step your game up to reach that level.
Asuka & Kairi Sane vs Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez: So far, I’ve enjoyed the slow heel turn for Asuka that seems to be building, especially when compared to Kairi Sane trying to be the Kairi Sane we all know and love. I am worried, though, that WWE will do what they often do with stories like this, and we’ll still be waiting for the next chapter months from now.
Oba Femi, Ricky Saints, Hank & Tank vs Dark State: The roller coaster booking of Dark State continues. It seems like it changes on a weekly basis. They continue to build in-ring chemistry together, and that has been a lot of fun to watch. I just wish the NXT creative team could figure out what they want to do with the group.
Adam Priest & Tommy Billington vs FTR: The match was good, and that’s cool and all, but… FTR is two weeks away from one of the biggest and most high profile matches of their career. Was this the best booking decision? Sure, they won the match, but it took them almost 15 minutes to do so. Priest and Billington are about as far down the proverbial totem pole as you can be in AEW. As talented as they are, this match shouldn’t have been as “close” as it was. If you wanted a competitive match for FTR, there were other teams to achieve that with, especially because I can just about guarantee you that it won’t lead to anything for Priest and Billington moving forward.
This Week’s Playlist: “End Of You” by Poppy, Amy Lee & Courtney LaPlante… “All Night Days” by Rob Thomas… “Picture Perfect” by Rob Thomas… “California” by Coyote & Xzibit… “Silent Divide” by Alter Bridge… “Fallen” by As The Structure Fails… “lovely” by HumanKind & Enemy Inside… “In Constant Sorrow” by $uicideboy$… “Rock The Bells” by LL Cool J… “It’s Funky Enough” by The D.O.C… “Body Bumpin” by Public Announcement… “What Do I Do With The Love” by Dru Hill… “Got The Life” by KoRn… “Scummy” by Crucial Conflict… “2 Bogus” by Crucial Conflict & Three 6 Mafia… “Fresh” by Kool & The Gang… “My Prerogative” by Bobby Brown… “On Our Own” by Bobby Brown… “Temperature” by Sean Paul… “Where The Hood At” by DMX… “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” by DMX… “Together Forever” by Rick Astley… “It Would Take A Strong, Strong Man” by Rick Astley… “SICKO MODE” by Travis Scott & Drake… “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit
